Acquiring the credentials to launch an admirable career takes more than classroom education. Education is important, of course, but so is practical training on a real work site.

So important is practical experience that with many forms of education training on the job is a requirement. Some education facilities call this period of study an internship and others refer to it as externship.

By either name, the student works in a real job setting, doing real work, and his or her supervisor reports back to the learning facility so the student can be graded on job performance instead of by exam, report, or classroom attendance.

As a supplement to classroom education training on the job presents real-life situations to the student that might not otherwise be covered in classroom discussion. Exposure to problems, challenges, and decision making during the training process will likely make the student more confident when confronted with similar situations after graduation.

Workplace politics is another aspect of education training on the job brings but which can’t be discussed very effectively in a classroom setting. In class, theories and other people’s experiences with workplace politics can be discussed but every workplace is different and this is one particular part of a job that is entirely different when experiencing it in the first-person perspective versus discussing it in the third-person perspective.

Some occupations require education and knowledge but they also require a “feel” for the work, too. Medicine and cooking are two such professions. To be a success in either of these jobs, having the right touch is important.

As a result, when training for these occupations, there is a good deal of education time devoted to hands-on training in a real workplace.

For every student who dreads the book part of the education training on the job can be a valuable lesson, as well as a relief from the drudgery of books, reports, and exams.